What's up with Whatsit

Everything I need to know wasn't taught in kindergarten

Things I learned after I grew up:

1. How to say no. I am quite good at it now. The official name for this procedure is "Self-preservation Technique Number 1."

2. How not to answer questions. If somebody is trying to get information out of me I don't want to give, I just keep quiet. This is a great way of keeping the other person talking. You have to learn to be comfortable with silence. Most people aren't, so they will rush to fill the silence. What if they come right out and ask? My response: "No telling," a good old-fashioned Southern phrase.

3. I'm at least as capable as everybody else. I just learned this a couple of years ago, when I was in my mid-30's. It took me that long to get over hearing my step-father make me feel stupid every single day when I was a teenager. I still have to make it my business to keep this in mind.

4. My mother doesn't know everything. Actually, she taught me this herself, although not on purpose. She was constantly telling me do this, do that, I didn't do that right, this was the wrong thing to do, etc. Even the most petty things were subject to her negative opinion. Just by observation I could tell that everything she said wasn't necessarily so. She should have kept her mouth shut and not been so determined she was right every single time.

5. Be sure you're right, then go ahead. This is more of a character trait than something I learned. What I actually learned was that there is nothing wrong with being a snappy decision maker.